Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

It was not discussed, so perhaps the Deputy could take it up with the line Minister. On Part V, approximately 100,000 planning applications for housing units were extant in the system and it took a number of years for them to go through. Many developments in the past four or five years had earlier planning permissions and did not come under the requirements of Part V. This year has seen a change in that, which is why the figures for this year are almost 4,000. That is changing and as we go forward it will change. In conjunction with the cross-departmental group the Minister and his officials have issued guidelines to all the local authorities — I am sure the Deputy has seen them — on how Part V should operate. It is a very clear document which removes many of the ambiguities. The officials also presented it to the CIF and various house builders' groups. Many of the difficulties and ambiguities in it have been removed in 2006 and it is far clearer.

Environmental impact and infrastructure are local authority issues, working with the guidelines. The cross-departmental group has been trying to get local authorities to move away from landfill sites and to find sustainable and environmentally friendly ways to deal with the issues. However, it has not gone into individual projects.

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